Matthew 18
American Standard Version
18 In that hour came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who then is [a]greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the [b]greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me: 6 but whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that [c]a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea.
7 Woe unto the world because of occasions of stumbling! for it must needs be that the occasions come; but woe to that man through whom the occasion cometh! 8 And if thy hand or thy foot causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed or halt, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire. 9 And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the [d]hell of fire. 10 See that ye despise not one of these little ones: for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.[e] 12 How think ye? if any man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go unto the mountains, and seek that which goeth astray? 13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth over it more than over the ninety and nine which have not gone astray. 14 Even so it is not [f]the will of [g]your Father who is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
15 And if thy brother sin [h]against thee, go, show him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he hear thee not, take with thee one or two more, that at the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established. 17 And if he refuse to hear them, tell it unto the [i]church: and if he refuse to hear the [j]church also, let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the [k]publican. 18 Verily I say unto you, What things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it [l]shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
21 Then came Peter and said to him, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until [m]seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, who would make a reckoning with his [n]servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, that owed him ten thousand
Footnotes
- Matthew 18:1 Greek greater.
- Matthew 18:4 Greek greater.
- Matthew 18:6 Greek a millstone turned by an ass.
- Matthew 18:9 Greek Gehenna of fire.
- Matthew 18:10 Many authorities, some ancient, insert verse 11 For the Son of man came to save that which was lost. See Lk. 19:10.
- Matthew 18:14 Greek a thing willed before your Father.
- Matthew 18:14 Some ancient authorities read my.
- Matthew 18:15 Some ancient authorities omit against thee.
- Matthew 18:17 Or, congregation
- Matthew 18:17 Or, congregation
- Matthew 18:17 See marginal note on 5:46.
- Matthew 18:19 Greek shall become.
- Matthew 18:22 Or, seventy times and seven
- Matthew 18:23 Greek bondservants.
- Matthew 18:24 This talent was probably worth about £200, or $1000.
- Matthew 18:26 Greek bondservant.
- Matthew 18:26 See marginal note on 2:2.
- Matthew 18:27 Greek bondservant.
- Matthew 18:27 Greek loan.
- Matthew 18:28 Greek bondservant.
- Matthew 18:28 The word in the Greek denotes a coin worth about eight pence half-penny, or nearly seventeen cents.
- Matthew 18:32 Greek bondservant.
Matthew 18
Lexham English Bible
The Question About Who Is Greatest
18 At that time the disciples came up to Jesus, saying, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling a child to himself, he had him stand in their midst 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you turn around and become like young children, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven! 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself like this child, this person is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, 5 and whoever welcomes one child such as this in my name welcomes me. 6 But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him that a large millstone[a] be hung on[b] his neck and he be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of causes for stumbling, for it is a necessity that causes for stumbling come; nevertheless, woe to the person through whom the cause for stumbling comes. 8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it[c] from you! It is better for you to enter into life crippled or lame than, having two hands or two feet, to be thrown into the eternal fire! 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it[d] from you! It is better for you to enter into life one-eyed than, having two eyes, to be thrown into fiery hell!
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10 “See to it that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven constantly see the face of my Father who is in heaven.[e] 12 What do you think? If a certain man has[f] a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go and[g] look for the one that wandered away? 13 And if he happens to find it, truly I say to you that he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not wander away. 14 In the same way it is not the will of[h] your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
Confronting a Brother Who Sins Against You
15 “Now if your brother sins against you, go correct him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take with you in addition one or two others, so that by the testimony[i] of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it[j] to the church. But if he refuses to listen to the church also, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
18 “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven. 19 Again, truly I say to you that if two of you agree on earth about any matter that they ask, it will be done for them from my Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them.”
The Parable of the Unforgiving Slave
21 Then Peter came up to him and[k] said,[l] “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I will forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven![m]
23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man—a king—who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 And when[n] he began to settle them,[o] someone was brought to him who owed ten thousand talents. 25 And because[p] he did not have enough[q] to repay it,[r] the master ordered him to be sold, and his[s] wife and his[t] children and everything that he had, and to be repaid. 26 Then the slave threw himself to the ground and[u] began to do obeisance to him, saying, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything to you!’ 27 So the master of that slave, because he[v] had compassion, released him and forgave him the loan. 28 But that slave went out and[w] found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and taking hold of him, he began to choke him,[x] saying, ‘Pay back everything that you owe!’ 29 Then his fellow slave threw himself to the ground and[y] began to implore[z] him, saying, ‘Be patient with me and I will repay you!’ 30 But he did not want to, but rather he went and[aa] threw him into prison until he would repay what was owed. 31 So when[ab] his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were extremely distressed, and went and[ac] reported to their master everything that had happened. 32 Then his master summoned him and[ad] said to him, ‘Wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you implored me! 33 Should you not also have shown mercy to your fellow slave as I also showed mercy to you?’ 34 And because he[ae] was angry, his master handed him over to the merciless jailers[af] until he would repay everything that was owed. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from your hearts!”
Footnotes
- Matthew 18:6 Literally “a millstone of a donkey”
- Matthew 18:6 Some manuscripts have “around”
- Matthew 18:8 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 18:9 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 18:10 Many later Greek manuscripts include vs. 11, “For the Son of Man came to save those who are lost.”
- Matthew 18:12 Literally “there are to a certain man”
- Matthew 18:12 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“go”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:14 Literally “in the presence of”
- Matthew 18:16 Literally “the mouth”
- Matthew 18:17 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 18:21 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came up”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:21 Some manuscripts have “Then Peter came up and said to him”
- Matthew 18:22 Or “seventy-seven times”
- Matthew 18:24 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“began”)
- Matthew 18:24 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 18:25 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“have”) which is understood as causal
- Matthew 18:25 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 18:25 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 18:25 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 18:25 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 18:26 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“threw himself to the ground”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:27 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had compassion”) which is understood as causal
- Matthew 18:28 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went out”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:28 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 18:29 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“threw himself to the ground”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:29 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to implore”)
- Matthew 18:30 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:31 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
- Matthew 18:31 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:32 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“summoned”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 18:34 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was angry”) which is understood as causal
- Matthew 18:34 Or “torturers”
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